MINISTERS PREVIEW FUTURE OF RELIGIOUS LEARNING

Mary Peterson Kauffold, Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

The banter of the two television hosts was quick-paced, and the how-to tips were punctuated with entertaining anecdotes.

But the real star of the show was the audience-people gathered in 100 different meeting rooms this week across the country and Canada who climbed aboard the real-time, interactive express lane of the information highway.

"This is the cutting edge of Christian education-we call it distance learning. It gives you the ability to bring national experts to your own neighborhood," said Rev. Dave Ferguson, pastor of the Community Christian Church of Naperville.

More than 60 ministers from 40 churches in the Chicago area, northern Indiana and southern Wisconsin converged at the Satellite Learning Center of the Community Christian Church.

The object of their curiosity was a live broadcast from Pasadena, Calif., the debut of the Church Satellite Network of Fuller Evangelistic Association.

The event featured Rev. Bill Hybels and business consultant Ken Blanchard. Hybels is the founder of the 16,000-member Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. Blanchard co-authored the best seller "The One Minute Manager."

Billed as a non-denominational summit on "Visions and Values," Hybels and Blanchard were cast in the role of talk-show hosts as they spoke from a studio set about what it takes to be a leader in the face of adversity.

"What lulls church leaders into mediocrity is they lose a sense of what could be," Hybels said.

"Moses didn't go up on the mountain with a committee," Blanchard said.

Despite viewing the remote program on a projection screen, the Naperville audience reacted with spontaneity.

"People are taking notes, cheering, clapping and laughing out loud," said Cliff Parrish, an AT&T Bell Laboratories engineer and volunteer director of the learning center. Parrish oversaw the bidding and setup of the center's $1,500 satellite dish.

Unlike watching a videotape, being at the teleconference gave participants a chance to press the flesh electronically with a couple of superstars by way of phone fax or e-mail, said Kevin Miller, editor of Leadership Journal, a Carol Stream-based quarterly publication for pastors and lay ministers.

"Hybels and Blanchard are heavy hitters in church leadership and business circles. This was a chance to sit with them, and if you were one of the lucky callers or faxers, to personally talk with them," Miller said.

Using satellite communications for mass dialogue to reduce geographic location to a non-factor isn't new. Businesses caught on years ago to the economic advantage of bouncing broadcast signals off an orbiting satellite, compared with the budgetary wear and tear required to transport people.

Now many churches faced with similar real-life cost-cutting pressures are turning to real-time technology for solutions. Tickets for the seminar at the Community Christian Church cost $30.

"It doesn't change the message, it doesn't dilute the truth of the gospel; it's a cost-effective method of presenting the message," said Richard Doebler, managing editor of Christianity Online, also in Carol Stream, a computer information service on religious topics.

Is salvation planning by satellite a pop-culture novelty or a long-term resource?

"It's too early to tell," Miller said. "This is a killer start, but will interest remain this high? We'll find out when we see the attendance figures six months from now."